New York-based SIGA Technologies has signed a 5-year, $433 million contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to deliver two million courses of the company’s smallpox antiviral, ST-246, to the Strategic National Stockpile; the contract includes options that would raise the contract’s total value to approximately $2.8 billion if these options are fully exercised

New York-based SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA), a specialist in the development of pharmaceutical agents to fight biowarfare pathogens, said it has signed a contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to deliver two million courses of its smallpox antiviral, ST-246, to the Strategic National Stockpile. The 5-year base contract award is worth $433 million and includes options that would raise the contract’s total value to approximately $2.8 billion, if these options are fully exercised. Contract options include the delivery of up to twelve million additional courses of ST-246.

“BARDA’s selection of ST-246 for the Strategic National Stockpile underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to Project BioShield and the procurement of medical countermeasures to address the threat of a smallpox attack,” stated Dr. Eric A. Rose, SIGA’s chairman and CEO.

The contract award confirms SIGA’s status as a leader in the biodefense industry and highlights our abilities in drug discovery, development and commercialization. Within just five years of the first non-human primate trial for ST-246, we are getting ready to deliver the world’s first completely new small-molecule drug to address a major bioterrorism threat and one of the most lethal diseases in history. We value our new role as a provider of biodefense countermeasures to the U.S. government, which is the culmination of years of successful research and development collaborations with the U.S. government that have enabled us to take this drug to the commercial stage. We believe this keystone contract is a historic event for the biodefense industry and will be the first of many commercial successes for ST-246 here and around the world.

Under the contract, SIGA will deliver 1.7 million courses of ST-246. Additionally, SIGA will contribute 300,000 courses manufactured using federal funds provided by HHS under prior development contracts. In addition to the option to purchase up to an additional twelve million courses, the contract will also permit SIGA to continue its work on pediatric and geriatric versions of the drug as well as use of ST-246 for smallpox prophylaxis. Dr. Rose added, “We believe that the funding to extend ST-246 to these vulnerable populations is critical to the future success of the U.S. government’s smallpox biodefense efforts. There are approximately 64 million children in the United States (through age 15), none of whom is currently vaccinated against this disease.”